§2X5.2 Class A Misdemeanors (Not Covered by Another Specific Offense Guideline): Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2018
Of the 189 people sentenced in fiscal year 2018 under §2X5.2, "Class A Misdemeanors (Not Covered by Another Specific Offense Guideline)," 183 (97%) pleaded guilty and 6 were convicted after a trial. 105 (56%) received probation only, and 70 (37%) received a prison term with a median of 3 months.
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › §2X5.2 Class A Misdemeanors (Not Covered by Another Specific › §2X5.2: FY2018
In brief: Of the 189 people sentenced in fiscal year 2018 under §2X5.2, "Class A Misdemeanors (Not Covered by Another Specific Offense Guideline)," 183 (97%) pleaded guilty and 6 were convicted after a trial. 105 (56%) received probation only, and 70 (37%) received a prison term with a median of 3 months.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 189 people sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2018. Acquittals and dismissals come from a second source, the Federal Judicial Center's records of 753,808 federal defendants whose cases ended in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. It is part of the Federal Prosecution Analysis series, which builds on Military Moves Toward Sentencing Guidelines to Mirror the Federal System. How the numbers were built: How the Federal Comparison Data Was Built.
Pleas, Trials, and Straight Pleas
For fiscal year 2018, the U.S. Sentencing Commission recorded 189 people sentenced with §2X5.2 as the primary guideline. Of these, 183 (97%) pleaded guilty and 6 were convicted after a trial.
Among those who pleaded guilty, 33% had a written plea agreement and 55% were straight pleas with no agreement.
The median prison term was 3 months after a guilty plea. After a trial it was 1.6 months, but that figure rests on 2 people, so it cannot be compared with the plea figure.
Probation Only and Prison
Probation only, with no prison or other confinement, went to 105 of the 189 people (56%). A prison term went to 70 (37%).
The median prison term for those sent to prison was 3 months. A quarter received 6 months or more, and a quarter received 0.4 months or less.
The 3-month median matched the figure for fiscal years 2016 to 2025 together. The share sent to prison was lower than the 48% for the full period.
Sentences Within the Guideline Range
Range information is recorded for all 189 people, and 181 of them (96%) were sentenced within the range.
A sentence above the range was given to 5 (3%). A sentence below the range without a government request was given to 2 (1%), and one below the range at the government's request to 1 (less than 1%).
None of the 113 people with mandatory minimum information recorded had one apply.
Supervised Release, Fines, and Restitution
Supervised release after prison was ordered for 43 people (23%), with a median term of 12 months.
A fine was ordered for 99 people (52%), and restitution for 8 (4%).
Criminal history data show 75% in the lowest category (category I) and 1% in the highest (category VI). Court-martial records have no criminal history field.
Other Years and the Federal Total
Fiscal year 2017 had 169 people under this guideline, a median prison term of 1.5 months, and 93% within the range. Fiscal year 2019 had 214 people, a median of 5.1 months, and 79% within the range. The table lists every year.
Across 2016 to 2025, 2,037 people were sentenced under §2X5.2. Of those, 98% pleaded guilty and 84% were within the range.
For all guidelines in fiscal year 2018, 69,425 people were sentenced. Their median prison term was 24 months, 97% pleaded guilty, and 51% were within the range.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 177 | 5 months | 94% |
| 2017 | 169 | 1.5 months | 92% |
| 2018 | 189 | 3 months | 97% |
| 2019 | 214 | 5.1 months | more than 99% |
| 2020 | 142 | 4.6 months | 100% |
| 2021 | 175 | 2.2 months | 99% |
| 2022 | 214 | 3.3 months | more than 99% |
| 2023 | 339 | 7 months | 99% |
| 2024 | 202 | 0.3 months | 99% |
| 2025 | 216 | 0.1 months | 97% |
What Is Not in the Data
Acquittals and dismissals are missing from the Commission's files, which hold only convicted and sentenced people. The prison terms shown are imposed terms, not time served.
Fiscal year 2018 ran from October 1, 2017 to September 30, 2018. The approved crosswalk has no close court-martial counterpart for this guideline, so only federal numbers are given. The Commission places these cases in the offense type Other.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2018 whose primary sentencing guideline was §2X5.2 (189), U.S. Sentencing Commission individual data files. The primary guideline is the one that set the offense level for the most serious count.
Federal fiscal years run from October 1 to September 30. No person, judge, or lawyer is identified in any of these records.
What to Keep in Mind
No parole in federal prison; credit for good conduct. Federal prison has no parole for crimes committed on or after November 1, 1987. A federal prisoner can earn up to 54 days of good conduct credit for each year of the sentence the judge imposed, which is about 15%. Some federal prisoners can also earn First Step Act time credits, but many offenses make a person ineligible. The numbers in this post are the sentences judges imposed, not the time people actually served.
Federal supervised release. Most federal prison sentences are followed by a term of supervised release that the judge sets as part of the sentence. A person who violates it can be sent back to prison. A court-martial cannot sentence anyone to supervision after release. Military parole and mandatory supervised release are decided later by a board, not by the judge at trial.
Who decides the sentence, and under what rules. Federal judges sentence every federal case. They must calculate the Sentencing Guidelines range, which is advisory, and must impose any mandatory minimum the statute requires unless an exception applies. In courts-martial, the accused could choose sentencing by members until the rules changed. For cases in which every guilty finding is for an offense committed after December 27, 2023, a military judge sentences alone, within sentencing parameters. Courts-martial tried in 2024 and later include both old-rule and new-rule cases, and the data cannot tell them apart.
Time periods. Federal numbers are by federal fiscal year (October 1 to September 30), based on the sentencing date. The military numbers are by trial date. Neither source has the date of the offense, so a change in law shows up in either data set gradually.
How life sentences and "time served" are counted. In the federal numbers, a life sentence is counted as 470 months, and any other sentence longer than 470 months is counted as just under 470 months. A sentence of "time served" is counted as one day (0.03 months). Averages are affected by these rules; medians much less.
Related Analysis
- Military Moves Toward Sentencing Guidelines to Mirror the Federal System (the background article)
- Federal Prosecution Analysis (all federal posts)
- How the Federal Comparison Data Was Built (sources and method)
- §2X5.2 Class A Misdemeanors (Not Covered by Another Specific Offense Guideline): Federal Sentences, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- §2X5.2 Class A Misdemeanors (Not Covered by Another Specific Offense Guideline): Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2017 (previous or next fiscal year)
- §2X5.2 Class A Misdemeanors (Not Covered by Another Specific Offense Guideline): Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2019 (previous or next fiscal year)
- How Often Federal Judges Sentence Outside the Guideline Range
- Mandatory Minimums: How Many Federal Sentences Are Set by Congress
- U.S. Sentencing Commission, Individual Offender Datafiles (source)
- Federal Judicial Center, Integrated Database (criminal defendants) (source)
About the author. Jocelyn C. Stewart is a retired Army JAG with more than 24 years of trying courts-martial and more than 200 jury trials. She hosts Where All The Bodies Are Buried and runs the Law Office of Jocelyn C. Stewart. This analysis is for education and information only. It is not legal advice, and every case is different.